SO MANY FEED CHOICES

SO MANY FEED CHOICES- HOW DO I CHOOSE WHAT MY HORSE EATS?   Let’s start with a little quiz. You don’t have to submit the answers, or score it, or even share it with anyone. It’s just to get you thinking about the choices you make when feeding your horse. My horse eats ________________________ and it’s made by ______________. He gets this much feed _______________ per meal and is fed __________times a day. I feed this because a) my trainer/farrier suggested it. b) my horse is boarded out and this is what the barn manager feeds him c) it’s what he’s always eaten d) my vet suggested it/ I researched and felt this was the best choice f) it’s what Susie Champion-BlueRibbon feeds and her horse always wins The hay my horse eats is: first crop / second crop (circle one) He gets this much hay in the summer ___________and this much in the winter__________ He always has access to clean, fresh water that isn’t frozen in the winter Y / N He always has access to salt Y / N So…what does your horse eat? How much, and how often? What I’m really interested in is WHY you feed your horse as you do. If you find yourself admitting to several of the choices in Question 3, you aren’t alone. I pulled most of those from personal experience! The field of commercial horse feeds is broad. There are feeds for young horses, old horses, performance horses, breeding stock, pasture pets, horses that need to gain or lose weight, horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch, horses that have metabolic or other health issues. Feeds can be high or low calorie, controlled starch, low starch, high fiber, suitable for all life stages, fixed formula or nutrition-locked. Like most things, the higher the quality, the higher the price tag. With some thought and a bit of research, you can find something to suit your horse’s requirements and your wallet. There are several things to consider when deciding the best diet for your horse. Here are some questions you should be prepared to answer. These aren’t in any order, and they don’t necessarily collect all the information that may be pertinent to your horse, but they are good for starting the process. Can he eat hay or pasture? Forage, as we’ve said before, should be the principal part of your horse’s diet. Everything else should be built around forage, which can be any combination of pasture and hay. If he has no access to pasture or can’t have grass, then we’re looking at hay or other forms of forages as the major component of his diet. If he can’t eat hay, perhaps because of his teeth, then the next step is to look at complete feeds. These supply the nutrients, calories, and fiber that a horse needs daily, if they are fed according to the guidelines on the bag. If you are feeding less than the recommended amount, your horse isn’t getting what he needs. Granted, horses have different metabolisms and maybe your horse needs more or less than the bag recommends, but if you are feeding one pound and he should be getting five, then he will suffer for it. Hay extender pellets, while useful for replacing part of your horse’s forage diet, should not replace all of it and don’t contain the protein, vitamins, and minerals that the complete feeds contain. How old is your horse? Age matters. Young horses have different requirements than older horses. Feeding them incorrectly can cause joint and bone development issues which will become apparent as they become older. This is why we have growth formulas. We have senior feeds because older horses become less efficient at extracting nutrients from feed as they age, and you may find that the feed he’s eaten for years no longer does the job. Senior feeds are formulated to make the nutrients more available to the horse. There is no set age at which a horse is considered a senior- some horses in their mid-teens would benefit from a change to senior feeds. Many, but not all, senior feeds can be fed as complete feeds. Check the bag to be sure. Complete feeds give feeding directions for horses that can eat forage and those that cannot. A caveat with senior feeds- they are not all alike. They can vary in the number of calories per pound and the amount of starch and sugar. If your older horse is needs to gain weight, or lose weight, or is sensitive to starches and sugars, these are additional requirements you should consider when selecting a feed. What breed is he? Different breeds on average have different metabolisms. Some, such as Mustangs, have developed in the wild to exist on very little and do well on forage with ration balancers to fill the gaps in vitamins and minerals. Your Thoroughbred…different story. She likely needs a higher calorie diet to fuel her daily routine. “Hot” breeds and nervous horses tend to expend more energy because they are constantly active. Some breeds can tolerate higher levels of sugars and starches better than other breeds, and there are breeds that may carry defective genes such as HYPP (Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis) that require a closely monitored diet and strict attention to the levels of potassium. Of course, every horse is an individual and should be fed as such, and there are variations within breeds. The point here is that being aware of certain dietary requirements, concerns, and/or restrictions related to your horse’s breed can help you select your horse’s meal. What is his job- how active is he? What your horse does for work determines a huge part of his nutritional needs. If he earns his keep by giving several lessons a day, or competes, or races, he has a greater caloric need than his friend who is a pasture buddy. If his job involves speed and quick responses, he will benefit from calories that